More than half of everything UCL does in research, teaching and innovation is health related. That breadth is unusual, and it matters.
At the core are four faculties – Brain Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Population Health Sciences – where world-leading teams tackle some of global health’s hardest problems
But there are researchers working to improve health across all 11 of our faculties. It means engineers design smart medical devices, lawyers shape healthcare ethics, artists improve wellbeing, chemists discover therapeutic agents, economists inform health investments, and statisticians model health systems. Meanwhile, urban planners explore how cities affect wellbeing, while social scientists show how structural inequalities shape who gets sick and who gets care.
UCL's health vision
Our 2026 discussion paper sets out UCL's capabilities and ambitions for health over the next 10+ years.
Vice-Provost Health Office
Read more about the people and teams in the office of Vice-Provost (Health)
Our people
Meet our health trailblazers making substantial contributions to improving health and wellbeing, locally and globally.
Lectures and events
UCL has a range of high-profile global health events and lectures held annually, as well as a variety of health-related events throughout the year.
Our Impact
At UCL, we are making an impact to positively effect social, environmental, legal and health issues across the globe - with all 11 faculties engaged in work that affects the health of millions of people around the world.
Success stories from across our faculties
Huntington’s disease slowed for first time
Brain Sciences:
UCL slowed Huntington’s disease progression for the first time using gene therapy, with treated patients showing a 75% reduction in disease progression.
‘Incurable' T-cell leukaemia treated
Medical Sciences:
UCL and Great Ormond Street developed a base‑edited gene therapy that reprograms immune cells to fight T‑cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
World-first one-shot cure for haemophilia
Population Health:
UCL and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital developed Roctavian, the first gene therapy for adults with severe haemophilia A, - a one‑off, life‑changing treatment.
World’s thinnest spaghetti
Life Sciences:
A UCL-led team developed ultra‑thin nanofibres, 200× thinner than hair, with potential uses in wound care, tissue regrowth and industrial applications.
Creative approach to reduce alcohol harm
Arts & Humanities:
UCL researchers used arts and community programmes to reduce alcohol harm in Nepal and support mental wellbeing across diverse global settings
Touchless computer software
Engineering/Hawkes Institute:
MotionInput 3 enables touchless computing, letting users control screens through voice, facial expressions and gestures captured by a webcam.
Pop-up eye clinic in shopping centre
Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment:
UCL and Moorfields piloted a pop‑up diagnostic eye clinic in Brent Cross shopping centre to improve access to eye health services.
A quantum-powered, faster Covid test
Engineering:
Q‑BIOMED developed quantum‑enhanced nanodiamond COVID tests that detect infection earlier and more accurately than standard lateral flow tests.
Healthier Wealthier Families in East London
Institute of Education:
UCL researchers are testing whether linking welfare advice to newborn health appointments improves parents’ mental health and financial stability.
Making genomic research equitable
Mathematics & Physical Sciences:
UCL Statistical Science is examining how statistical and machine‑learning methods can reinforce or reduce bias in genomic research.
Action on health inequalities through law
Faculty of Laws:
Professor Dame Hazel Genn studies how unresolved legal issues in housing, welfare and employment negatively affect people’s health.
Social contexts of breast cancer
Social & Historical Sciences:
Dr Sahra Gibbon uses anthropology to explore how understanding breast cancer genetics shapes experiences, communities and health systems globally.